Five years of marriage, always separated [1970s]

Geng Huihui's plan was ruthlessly exposed. She was in a bad mood and gave her cousin a cold look before going out to watch the fun.

When she got outside, she saw Zhang Xiaoming wearing old clothes. Although they were washed clean, the cuffs were frayed. Geng Huihui couldn't help but go back to the house to report: "Uncle, Uncle Zhang and Aunt Zhang are really unrefined. They didn't even remind Xiaoming to buy a new set of clothes when there was a wedding at home."

Geng Zhiye: "I bought it. Xiao Ming and his girlfriend went to the department store to buy it a few days ago on the weekend. I heard about it from your aunt. Maybe someone in the Zhang family said that it was not necessary to wear such nice clothes, so he didn't take it out."

Geng Huihui was shocked: "He's so obedient?"

Geng Zhiye sometimes finds it incredible: "He said that a harmonious family is the foundation of everything, and that family members don't need to be so calculative."

Geng Huihui sighed, "I hope Xiao Ming's partner is powerful, otherwise Zhang Xiaojun will be able to take all his money."

Zhang Xiaojun planned to take advantage of the wedding to make his brother spend more money, but unfortunately Zhang Xiaoming came home, said hello to his parents and went back to his and Zhang Xiaodi's bedroom. When Zhang Xiaojun got off work, Zhang Xiaodi was also off school, so Zhang Xiaojun would run into his younger brother every time.

Zhang Xiaodi gave him a cold glance, and Zhang Xiaojun was so scared that his legs were shaking and he dared not say anything, so that Zhang Xiaoming was confused and asked his younger brother if he was okay. Zhang Xiaodi lied to him and said nothing, then asked him if the money he earned was in his pocket, and reminded him not to forget to take it out when changing clothes.

Zhang Xiaoming said he couldn't forget it, and then he took out a handful of money from his pants. Zhang Xiaoming frowned and said, "Why don't you leave the money at Sister Ye's house and ask her for it when you save money on Saturday. Brother Geng is not at home, and it's very troublesome for her to take care of the children and do the accounting every day."

Zhang Xiaoming believed that going to school was more important than making money, and was afraid that Ye Fan’s academic performance would decline because of this, so he said he would tell Ye Fan later.

Zhang Xiaojun didn't give up. He took advantage of Zhang Xiaoming being alone and asked him if he had any money. He offered to lend him a few dollars to buy candy. Zhang Xiaoming searched his pockets and found only one dollar and thirty-five cents. Zhang Xiaojun was so angry that he refused to take a penny.

Although Zhang Xiaoming was slow, he also realized why his second brother kept looking for him. Zhang Xiaoming was very sad, for his slowness and for his second brother's dissatisfaction.

Zhang Xiaoming also knew his own faults - he was soft-hearted and easily influenced, so he did not have more than one dollar in his pocket before going home. He secretly put a few cents into Zhang's pocket every day, leaving him to buy candy at school. He thought his younger brother was only focused on studying and did not notice the extra money.

Zhang Xiaojun thought that Zhang Xiaoming gave the money to his parents to support his wife in asking for an entry-level bonus.

Geng Huihui heard that the bride had arrived, so she ran out and saw Zhang Xiaojun riding a bicycle with the bride back. Neighbors asked the bride to get off the bicycle, but the bride sat on the big bar and didn't move.

Wow! Geng Huihui instantly became alert and returned to her doorstep, shouting, “Benben, Dabao, Erbao!”

Geng Zhiqin stood up and said, "Third brother, go watch the fun."

Dabao was the first to run out. When he heard the bridegroom say, "Give me two hundred yuan to buy a gold ring," Dabao opened his mouth in shock. Erbao, who came out later, asked, "Is that a lot?"

Dabao whispered, "My aunt sells popsicles in the park every day, and she only earns 160 yuan in a summer vacation."

Erbao's eyes widened: "She loves money more than her brother?"

"Who are you insulting?" Dabao was very unhappy, "Brother loves money but he makes it in a proper way."

Erbao doesn't like making money as much as Dabao, because Dabao's money will be used by her sister, so Erbao doesn't have to worry about money. Erbao realized that it was inappropriate to say this to her brother who loved her, and she grabbed his arm: "Brother, I was wrong."

Dabao patted her on the head and saw her father slowly coming out: "Dad, give it to me?"

Geng Zhiye: "You have to ask Uncle Zhang."

Dabao dragged his sister to the door of Zhang's house and heard Uncle Zhang's voice coming from the yard: "Twenty yuan!"

The people who were sending the bride off laughed so hard that they fell over, mocking the Zhang family for sending away beggars. Zhang Xiaoming blushed when he saw people laughing at his family's embarrassment, and wanted to say that he would pay for it, but Zhang Xiaodi pushed him and said, "Take the relatives to the restaurant."

Zhang Xiaoming instinctively asked: "Now?"

"Is it eleven o'clock?" Zhang Xiaodi asked instead of answering.

Zhang Xiaoming felt about right and asked towards the courtyard, "Dad, are we going?"

Uncle Zhang waved his hand, and Zhang Xiaoming asked his relatives to go to the restaurant with him. Yu Wentao was afraid that she would say something she shouldn't, so she said to the neighbors, "Let's go too."

The neighbors knew the Zhang family's financial situation. Even if Zhang Xiaoming could make money, he had four unmarried children and many other things to spend money on. He definitely could not afford to pay these two hundred yuan. The final result was predictable. The neighbors lost interest and left with their relatives. Then the only people left in the alley were the neighbors who stayed at home for dinner and the woman's family.

Younger brother Zhang did not go, but leaned against the wall and watched his second sister-in-law work.

The woman in the wedding dress and holding the bouquet was so embarrassed that her face turned red with anger that she threatened Zhang Xiaojun: "Send me back!"

Zhang Xiaojun was panicking and yelling into the house, "Dad!"

Uncle Zhang came out, without a trace of smile on his face: "You make 40 yuan a month, give 15 to your family, and have 25 left. I'll give you 10 yuan for lunch at the factory. You have 5 yuan pocket money a month, and you can have 10 yuan left. It's been three years since you got your official salary, and you can't come up with 200 yuan? No money, no marriage!"

Aunt Zhang was very panicked: "Old man, you——"

"Do you have money?" Uncle Zhang interrupted his wife.

Uncle Zhang was afraid that he would spend the money carelessly, so he kept enough money for the family's living expenses and emergency expenses every month and deposited it in the bank. At this moment, the whole family could not raise 200 yuan. Aunt Zhang could not agree and whispered, "How about I go--"

"I'm not going anywhere!" Uncle Zhang said, "I only have fifty yuan. If you don't want to, just go back!"

The bride was very firm: "Let's go!"

Zhang Xiaojun was anxious: "Dad, how are you going to explain to our relatives if we don't go?"

Uncle Zhang: "Your brother doesn't plan to hold a wedding when he gets married, so this time it will be your brother's wedding. I'll hold one for you when you get married later."

Dabao tugged at his father's hand, looked up and asked with his eyes: "Is this okay?"

Geng Zhiye touched his son's head and signaled him to be patient.

The bride thought that Uncle Zhang was threatening her and that going back to her parents' home would make her look scared, so she decided to wait it out. However, Uncle Zhang was too lazy to stare at her and dragged his wife back to the house.

Half an hour later, Zhang Xiaoming ran back and asked, "Dad, what should I do?"

Uncle Zhang: "Are all the relatives and neighbors there?"

Zhang Xiaoming nodded.

Uncle Zhang said, "Tell Xiaozhi and Xiaofen to come over as well. You guys eat first."

"But everyone is waiting for the newlyweds to toast." Zhang Xiaoming added.

Uncle Zhang said, "You can drink a little with your relatives."

Zhang Xiaoming hesitated for a moment: "Dad, how about I look for Geng——"

"It's theirs? Don't go to them for no reason." Uncle Zhang spoke harshly and looked very serious. Zhang Xiaoming was afraid of his father being like this, so he got scared and rolled out, then ran straight to the restaurant.

When the bride saw that she was really not needed at the wedding banquet, she was so angry that she burst into tears and asked Zhang Xiaojun to send her home. The people who were escorting her did not dare to laugh or shout, but instead advised the bride to calm down.

The bride thought that she had never been so humiliated in her life, and she wanted to save face even if it meant losing everything, so she insisted on going back.

Zhang Xiaojun looked at the people who were escorting the bride and asked them to make the decision. The people who were escorting the bride suddenly found that Zhang Xiaodi was still waiting outside and thought that he was watching for his parents - he was worried that they would really leave, so he said, "Go!"

When they reached the entrance of the alley, Zhang Xiaodi did not ask them to stop. The people from the bride's side were so embarrassed to have gone to her grandmother's house that they left in anger and shame.

When he returned to the girl's home, her parents scolded Zhang Xiaojun for not asking the neighbors for money, and said that if he borrowed the money, his father would not dare to not pay it back.

Zhang Xiaojun and his wife were so busy fighting with their elders that they didn't think about this at all. But it was too late to go back now. Zhang Xiaojun asked his mother-in-law what to do. His mother-in-law said that if the in-laws came to pick him up, he would not go back, and then asked Zhang Xiaojun to go back alone.

Zhang Xiaojun started crying when he got home. He had never been so embarrassed in his life. Aunt Zhang cried with him. Uncle Zhang looked at the mother and daughter in tears.

—

There were many children in the park and students on the street during the weekend, so Ye Fan sold out before 12 o'clock. Ye Fan did not plan to go again in the afternoon. His cousin from Yujia Village thought he could come again in the afternoon, so he went back to the village to sell candied haws, and Ye Fan went home.

When Ye Fan got home, Geng Huihui chopped the meat and Geng Zhiqin kneaded the dough. Ye Fan didn't need to do anything, so she went back to the main room to rest. Hearing Dabao's vivid description of how tough the bride and her family were, Ye Fan felt incredible.

Ye Fan couldn't help but ask Geng Zhiye: "Zhang Xiaojun's wife is so powerful, where does she come from?"

Geng Zhiye smiled and said, "Would someone of such status care about a gold ring?"

Ye Fan thought about herself. If her husband's family prepared three turns and one ring, her mother would definitely prepare a refrigerator, a fan, and a TV. Any one of these three things could be exchanged for a few gold rings, and she would never ask her for money to get off the bus.

Ye Fan: "Then what's going on with this marriage?"

Geng Zhiye said, "The Zhang family cannot bow their heads. There are still two sons who have not married yet. If Mr. Zhang bows his head, isn't he afraid that the eldest and youngest daughters-in-law will follow suit? Once the in-laws of the two daughters see that the Zhang family agrees with this practice, who would dare to marry them?"

Ye Fan thought that Uncle Zhang was worried about being ridiculed by his second daughter-in-law, so he refused to give him two hundred. Unexpectedly, others said, "You are right. Xiaofen is getting married in two months. If her husband's family misunderstands that the Zhang family supports their daughter-in-law's behavior, her marriage will most likely be cancelled."

Geng Zhiye nodded: "Zhang Xiaofen is one year older than Zhang Xiaojun. We can't delay any longer."

Erbao was very confused: "Mom, is the bride very poor?"

Dabao couldn't help but say, "Stupid Erbao. Very poor people can't afford a wedding dress."

Ye Fan was surprised: "Still wearing a wedding dress?"

Geng Zhiye was surprised to see the bride in white and Zhang Xiaojun wearing a suit. "Yes. She rented it as soon as it became popular in the second half of the year. Xiaoqin said it was more expensive than buying a red suit - the suit you wore when we got married."

Ye Fan: "The Zhang family pays?"

Geng Zhiye: “Zhang Xiaojun paid for it.”

"You're really capable of doing that." Ye Fan didn't object to wearing a wedding dress, but she also had to consider her own situation. If she spent all of Zhang Xiaojun's savings on the wedding, she would not be able to make ends meet in the future.

Geng Zhiye realized after hearing this: "A gold ring costs a few dozen yuan, and she wants 200 yuan. Will Zhang Xiaojun's savings be lost by these two?"

Ye Fan supported Geng Zhiye's shoulders and stood up: "Captain Geng, you guessed right."

Geng Zhiye took her hand and said, "Where are you going again? Aren't you tired of being busy all day long?"

Ye Fan: "Go to the bathroom. Wanna go?"

Geng Zhiye got up and followed her to the toilet. Dabao rolled his eyes speechlessly: "Are you still in elementary school? Holding hands and going to the toilet."

Erbao: "Early school students don't hold hands either."

Dabao choked and raised his hand: "Should I hit you?"

Geng Leilei quickly separated the two children.

At noon, Ye Fan's family had dumplings. Geng Zhiqin and Geng Huihui prepared a lot of ingredients. Ye Fan, Geng Zhiye and Benben helped to make them. After making them, they cooked half of them at noon and put the other half in the refrigerator for Ye Fan and Yu Wentao to cook when they didn't want to cook.

After dinner, Geng Zhiqin packed up the clothes that had been washed in the washing machine last night, and then took his eldest nephew and niece back to school.

Ye Fan asked Geng Zhiye: "What time will you go back?"

Geng Zhiye looked at his watch: "Four o'clock."

Only one hour left? Ye Fan said, "Then you take a rest, I'll help you pack your luggage."

Geng Zhiye followed Ye Fan to help.

When Dabao saw that his parents didn't pay attention to him and his sister, he pulled Erbao and his cousin out.

Seeing Yu Wentao at the door, Dabao was shocked: "Grandma is back?"

Yu Wentao came over and said, "You're back early. Grandma is chatting with someone." She took out all the candies and melon seeds in her pocket, gave some to each child, and then went back to chatting with someone outside Zhang's house.

Geng Leilei didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He was already so old, but he still ate candies and melon seeds from the banquet. Geng Leilei stuffed the candies and melon seeds into Erbao's pocket.

Dabao was only interested in fighting and swearing. When he heard his grandmother chatting, he told his brother and sister to go play in the west.

At four o'clock, Ye Fan accompanied Geng Zhiye to the bus stop. Geng Zhiye pulled Ye Fan into the bus and asked Ye Fan to accompany him to the township bus station. He took the last bus from there directly to the school gate.

At first, Geng Zhiye didn’t know that he could take the bus to the township bus station, and he also forgot to ask his classmates if there were any buses going to the city. The first time he went home from school, he foolishly ran three or four kilometers before he found the bus stop.

Ye Fan asked him what he was going to do if he couldn't find the bus stop. Geng Zhiye explained seriously that he had calculated the driving distance and it was eleven kilometers, so running back was not impossible.

Ye Fan was speechless on the spot.

Ye Fan was also speechless at this moment: "It was dark when I came back."

Geng Zhiye: "Will you get off at the next stop?"

Ye Fan rolled his eyes at him, stayed with him in the car for half an hour, then got off and took the return bus across the road.

When he arrived at the door of his house, he heard a bang. Ye Fan looked in the direction of the sound and saw Zhang Xiaojun pushing a bike out and riding away.

Yu Wentao and the neighbors were still chatting in the alley. Ye Fan waited until Zhang Xiaojun was far away before approaching them and asking, "Are you going to pick up his wife?"

Yu Wentao: "It's useless for Xiaojun to go. I just asked Xiaofen, and she said they asked his parents to pick him up."

Aunt Li cursed: "This is such a treason! This is the first time in my life that I have seen a young person asking an elder to bow his head."

Ye Fan tried to persuade her to calm down and asked, "Zhang Xiaojun didn't go to the wedding banquet today?"

Aunt Li shook her head: "Xiao Ming was so busy that he almost cried. I have never had such a quiet wedding banquet in my life."

Yu Wentao couldn't help but say, "It was even quieter than when we had a meal with relatives from far away on the day your father-in-law was buried."

Ye Fan complained in his heart, what a lousy metaphor. "Is Xiao Ming at home?" Ye Fan changed the subject.

Aunt Li nodded: "Tell him to persuade his parents. If Xiaojun really takes him back, don't be angry with her. By the way, Dabao's mother, is Xiaoming still going to the village?"

Ye Fan: "Originally we said we would go there in the evening as usual."

Yu Wentao immediately said, "I'll ask for you." When she got to the gate of Zhang's courtyard, she called out, "Xiao Ming, are you going to the countryside?"

The courtyard was very quiet. Yu Wentao thought it was inconvenient for him to answer, so she walked over to Ye Fan and said, "Wait."

More than ten minutes later, Zhang Xiaoming came out with a military green satchel filled with toiletries and clothes for tomorrow. "Sister Ye, is there any gas left in the car?"

Ye Fan: "Put the oil barrel on the car, and fill it up if it runs out of oil halfway. Oh, and check the tires, bring an air pump and tire repair tools."

Zhang Xiaoming went to Ye Fan's yard to check the brakes again, making sure they were all fine, and found a raincoat and rain cloth in case it suddenly rained on the way, and then drove out of the city. Seeing that it was getting late, Ye Fan asked his mother-in-law to go home.

Yu Wentao had a good lunch and said she was not hungry. Ye Fan was not too hungry either, so they cooked porridge in the rice cooker and cut a few freshly harvested potatoes and stir-fried them with eggs, green peppers and potatoes.

After dinner, Ye Fan checked his schoolbag and then checked Dabao and Erbao’s homework. After they had finished what they were supposed to do, Ye Fan asked them to go out and play for a while.

After Ye Fan washed up, he called the little ones back to take a bath.

Erbao's apple head gets wet easily when she takes a bath and washes her face, so Ye Fan wipes her half dry and lets her go back to the room. Erbao lies on the bed reading various books of interest, and falls asleep while reading and forgets to turn off the light. Ye Fan opens the door as usual, covers her with a quilt, turns off the light, and goes to rest.

Three days passed like this. Ye Fan's patience had run out because of the old-fashioned computer scientist. In order to prevent himself from getting irritated whenever he saw a computer in the future, he went straight home after finishing his ancient language class in the afternoon.

It was already four o'clock when he got home. Zhang Xiaoming was chatting with Yu Wentao in the yard of Ye Fan's house. Ye Fan sent his textbooks into the house and came out to wash his hands. He asked, "How's business?"

Zhang Xiaoming: "Wait a minute and go to Erbao's school with Aunt Yu."

Ye Fan: "Didn't it sell out at noon?"

Yu Wentao: "The candied haws that were brought over this morning have all been sold out. Your cousin is going home for lunch at noon, so someone else can come over and bring him a box. Xiao Ming will give him one dollar for the shipping fee."

Ye Fan: "It should be. Otherwise, even if the eldest and youngest uncles don't care, the two cousins ​​will have opinions after a long time."

Yu Wentao couldn't help but nod in agreement.

In the past, her family was poor, and her uncles and uncles didn't help her family much. At that time, every household had no money and no food, so she could understand why they didn't help her family, but she still felt uncomfortable when she thought of the past. She subconsciously thought that the two cousins ​​were the same as her uncles and uncles - narrow-minded!

Ye Fan wiped his hands and said, "I'll go pick up Erbao."

Yu Wentao: "You can go. I'll roll the noodles?" Before Ye Fan could say no, she complained, "The noodles taste terrible."

Ye Fan laughed: "Is there any wet noodles for sale in the market?"

Yu Wentao shook her head: "I haven't seen it. Maybe no one presses noodles because it's too troublesome."

Ye Fan: "In the future, if there are more vegetable vendors on the street and the vegetable market is not doing well, I won't mind the trouble."

Yu Wentao: "It's better this way. It saves me from being complained about being in the way if I stand in front of the meat stall for a while."

Zhang Xiaoming said, "If you don't have meat at home, tell me in advance and I'll bring it over and sell it near the teachers' apartment."

Ye Fan looked at his watch and said, "Xiao Ming, you can go now."

There was only one box in the car. Seeing this, Ye Fan got in the car and asked Zhang Xiaoming to take her there.

A few minutes after arriving at the school gate, Zhang Xiaoming's eyes lit up and he whispered, "Sister Ye, that's my girlfriend Dong Ying."

Ye Fan had never met Zhang Xiaoming's girlfriend. Following his gaze, he saw a female comrade who looked to be around 30 years old, with fair skin and a thin figure that made her look tall. In fact, she was a little shorter than Zhang Xiaoming, but definitely taller than Jiang Ping introduced by Cheng Zhenhua.

The female comrade met Ye Fan's gaze and felt embarrassed to pretend to be blind. She slowly walked over and called out, "Sister Ye."

Ye Fan smiled and asked, "I heard from Cheng Shitou that your daughter is in the first grade at this school?"

Dong Ying said "yes" and asked, "Are you here to sell candied haws?"

In a short while, Zhang Xiaoming had already taken out a few strings of candied haws and stuck them on a piece of foam. Seeing her glancing at the candied haws, Ye Fan smiled and said, "No, I'm here to pick up Erbao. The little girl loves to play, and if no one urges her, she can play until dinner."

As soon as he finished speaking, the bell for the end of get out of class rang, and then a naughty boy ran out.

The school is a sacred place, so Zhang Xiaoming was too embarrassed to shout. But he came a few times, and the students all knew his car. A group of rich little classmates went straight to the Tanghulu, and the talkative children even boasted that Xiaoming's Tanghulu was as delicious as those sold in department stores.

Ye Fan took the opportunity to say, "We grow the hawthorns ourselves, and we pick them one by one when we clean them. We also make the maltose ourselves, so it's definitely better than what the factory makes."

The aunt, who was about to coax her granddaughter home for dinner, heard this and stopped to ask, "Didn't you go to the factory to buy it in bulk?"

Ye Fan did not answer first, "Isn't it forbidden to engage in speculation? Everything we sell is produced by ourselves. Do you want to buy one? There are no bad fruits. Unless the rot inside is invisible to the naked eye."

This kind of situation is rare, and the aunt rarely encounters it. Naturally, she would not deliberately argue when she heard it. And she saw that her granddaughter wanted to eat it, "Give me a skewer. What's wrapped on it?"

Ye Fan: "It's the edible rice paper inside the candy. It's cleaner to wrap it this way."

The old lady thought that these were cleaner than those sold in the small shops near her home, and she wouldn’t have to worry about them getting dusty when she took them home, so she ordered two strings, one for her grandson.

Ye Fan found Dong Ying bringing the child over, and handed her a small skewer. Dong Ying said "No thanks", and Ye Fan stuffed it into the child's mouth, "Every time Xiao Ming brings it over, Da Bao and Er Bao try it. No one dares to gossip about Xiao Ming and I's business, so feel free to eat it."

Dong Ying asked her daughter to say thank you. The little girl whispered "thank you". This child is shy, probably because of her single-parent family. It's no wonder that Dong Ying looks for a partner based on character rather than family background - such an introverted child would be scared to death by a stepfather with a loud voice.

Ye Fan smiled and said, "You're welcome."

Geng Erbao ran over and hugged Ye Fan: "Mom, will you pick me up today?"

Ye Fan took her schoolbag: "Are you happy?"

"I'm happy." Erbao looked at Dong Ying, "Is she your friend?"

Ye Fan shook his head: "Xiao Ming's friend."

Erbao wanted to ask why she had never seen him before. Suddenly she thought of a possibility, and the little girl covered her mouth and smiled, and asked in a low voice: "Girlfriend?"

Ye Fan laughed and said to Dong Ying, "This is my clever ghost. His nickname is Erbao and his real name is Geng Jingjing."

Erbao was not shy at all: "That's right. Sister, what's your name? I'll come and play with you later."

The little girl hid behind her mother. Dong Ying explained: "She is timid. Her name is Dong Fangfang, which means "Fang" in "round sky and square earth". She is in Class 2, Grade 1."

Erbao nodded to indicate that she would take note of it. She inadvertently saw that Zhang Xiaoming was very busy, so she ran over and said, "Xiaoming, you collect the money, I'll help you get it." She climbed onto the car, opened the box of popsicles in summer, and asked the schoolmate, "How many hawthorn ones do you want?"

Almost all the senior students knew Geng Erbao, and asked back: "Geng Erbao, what is your relationship?"

Geng Erbao: "It's a partnership. The candied haws belong to my mom and Xiao Ming. I guess you'll want a small one."

The alumni didn't pay any attention to Geng Erbao's first two words. Everyone in the school knew that she never said a word of truth. "Are you trying to provoke me? Now that you succeed, I want the biggest one."

Geng Erbao gave him: "You won't lose money if you buy my candied haws. Give me money, give me money!"

"Stingy." The alumnus handed Xiao Ming a dollar.

When Zhang Xiaoming saw the elementary school student had so much money, he asked, "Didn't your mom buy you notebooks and pens?"

"You're so nosy." The little boy told him to find the money quickly.

Geng Erbao: "Xiao Ming is worried that you will be beaten when you go back. A dog bites Lu Dongbin, and he doesn't know a good person's heart."

The little boy pointed at Geng Erbao and said, "Get down here!"

Dong Ying asked, "Do you want to go over and take a look?"

Ye Fan shook his head: "It's okay for children to fight. The nature of the situation changed when we went over there." Seeing Dong Fangfang tightly grasping her mother's clothes, two words flashed through his mind - bullying. He deliberately said something extra, "It's different from a few classmates deliberately bullying Erbao."

"Why are you bullying me on purpose?" Dong Ying didn't understand.

Ye Fan shook his head, "There's no reason. I just think you're honest. The students with bad behavior will come to tease you after class. But my Erbao is very capable. No one dares to tease her." Looking at Erbao, Geng Erbao was standing on the car with his hands on his hips. "Come up if you can."

The little boy quickly stepped back, worried that she would kick him: "Get down!"

Erbao squatted down: "Childish!" and continued to help Xiao Ming get the candied haws.

The little boy suddenly felt like he had punched cotton. "You—you are childish!"

Erbao nodded: "I am a child, so what?"

"Then why do you say I'm childish?" asked the little boy.

Erbao: "I am childish, so I can't say you are childish? My mother said that I am ugly and I can say you are ugly."

"You are ugly!" the little boy blurted out.

Zhang Xiaoming couldn't help but laugh. His laughter made the little boy realize that he had been led astray by Geng Erbao, and he became even angrier: "Geng Erbao, you are unreasonable!"

Erbao: "You can also be unreasonable."

The little boy was so angry that he almost died.

Ye Fan couldn't bear to watch it anymore, so he asked Dong Ying, "Do you want to go back first or wait a while so I can go over and take a look?"

Dong Ying: "Let's go back first."

Ye Fan nodded and walked towards Erbao: "Help Xiao Ming sell the candied haws!"

Erbao stood up and shouted loudly: "It's candied haws~~ It's sour and sweet~~ If it's not sweet, I won't pay~~~"

Dong Ying couldn't help but stop and look back at Erbao, who had his hands on his waist, just like the organizer who called on the proletariat to unite and resist oppression many years ago. She was very puzzled as to how Ye Fan's daughter was taught.

On Saturday afternoon, Dong Ying brought her daughter back to her parents' home. While eating, she couldn't help but say that Ye Fan's daughter was amazing.

The Dong family asked someone to find out about Zhang Xiaoming's situation, including the years Zhang Xiaoming spent in the countryside. People were afraid that he might have a child there, but he broke up with someone and no one reported him, so he was able to return to the city.

Zhang Xiaoming was fine in the countryside, so the Dong family checked his situation in the city, and naturally they couldn't avoid Ye Fan. The Dong family was also in Xicheng, and they had to go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy things, so they also knew that the cheap and high-quality seafood sold in the supply and marketing cooperative came from the south, and was also brought by Ye Fan.

Dong's mother said, "Ye Fan is not simple, and the child he raised himself must not be simple either."

Dong Ying heard from her brother and sister-in-law that Ye Fan was not the Ye family's biological child, so she couldn't help but ask, "What about the other one?"

"There's nothing wrong with her brain to get into college." Dong's mother said, "I heard that she's not as considerate as Ye Fan in dealing with people. She didn't teach her well over there. But it doesn't matter. She and Ye Fan haven't been back to Shanghai in the past few years. They may have lost contact a long time ago. Don't worry about it."

Dong Ying stopped asking about Ye Fan: "Sister-in-law Cheng said Xiao Ming makes a minimum of 100 yuan a month. Is selling small items so profitable?"

Mr. and Mrs. Dong are not sure.

Dong Ying's third brother and his wife lived with her parents-in-law. When her third sister-in-law heard this, she said, "I asked the people at the supply and marketing cooperative. Ten or twenty strings of candied haws are not profitable. The more you make, the more profitable you are. They said that if you make hundreds of strings, the cost will be reduced, and you can make half the profit if you sell them for fifty yuan. But why does Ye Fan, who is so smart, do such a small business?"

Dong Ying's mother had retired a long time ago. She often went to the park near Ye Fan's house to inquire about Zhang Xiaoming. She was afraid that it would be too obvious to be discovered, so she started with Ye Fan. When Dong's mother heard her daughter's doubts, she said, "Geng Zhiye is studying in the military academy, and she is in college. She is afraid that something will happen and affect the future of the couple."

Father Dong: "We don't know if the special economic zones will be successful, so it's better to be steady now. After a few years of practice, it will prove that reform and opening up are successful, and it won't be too late to expand it. It's never too late for Ye Fan to make money if he has the ability."

Dong Ying's third sister-in-law asked, "Then Zhang Xiaoming doesn't need our help. Can Ye Fan afford to support Xiaoying and Fangfang just by giving him some money?"

Father Dong nodded.

Dong Ying's sister-in-law asked again: "When will we ask Zhang Xiaoming's parents to come out and have a chat?"

Dong Ying immediately said there was no rush.

Dong Ying's third sister-in-law: "Zhang Xiaoming's height and appearance are not outstanding. There are some friends and relatives among us who can make more money than him, but few of them have good character. Who among those of your age who are not married doesn't have a lot of girlfriends?"

Dong Ying couldn't help but think of the son of her father's comrade-in-arms, who was tall and smart, but changed his girlfriend every March. Not to mention that Dong Ying had a child, she couldn't stand this even if she was unmarried and had the energy to deal with it.

The cousin of Dong Ying's ex-husband worked in a state-owned unit, and all the female comrades of his age had dinner with him. Some saw that he was a playboy, so they just had dinner together and nothing happened, while many others just dated him.

In the future, when she takes her daughter to a department store, she will run into her husband's ex-girlfriend every three steps. Dong Ying gets goosebumps just imagining it. There are also gay men who are self-disciplined. But these people, like Geng Zhiye, are engaged or married early, and they are not likely to have a harmonious relationship with their spouse.

Dong's relatives also disliked Zhang Xiaoming's family background, and they also slandered that Dong Ying looked better than Zhang Xiaoming even with her eyes closed.

Dong Ying had seen many families who were much better than the Zhang family before, but they all had problems with her bringing a child. Unlike Zhang Xiaoming, who never asked her why she didn't give the child to her ex-husband, he would buy her some things every time he saw her, such as candy and biscuits. Dong Ying looked down on the cheap things he bought, but Zhang Xiaoming at least remembered that she still had a child.

However, Dong Ying still couldn't help but complain to her parents about Zhang Xiaoming's way of living. Dong's mother had lived through many years of hardship and could understand Zhang Xiaoming, so she advised her daughter that Zhang Xiaoming had just earned money but had not yet learned how to spend it. This was also the reason why Dong Ying didn't want to meet her parents so soon.

Seeing that her daughter was unable to refute and give in to her daughter-in-law's words, Dong's mother said, "Then let's do it again? At the end of the year?"

Dong Ying: "At the end of the year. The two families are meeting now, and it would be inappropriate for me not to go to his sister's wedding in a few days. I don't want to go."

Zhang Xiaoming told Dong Ying what his brother had done. Dong's mother often went to the park and heard people say that Zhang Xiaojun was a slave to his wife. Dong's mother was very confused: "Zhang Xiaoming's parents are honest, why are the in-laws more powerful than each other?"

Her third daughter-in-law laughed: "Indeed, you are also amazing."

The old lady couldn't help but laugh, "I was just worried that Xiaoying would be wronged after she got married."

Her daughter-in-law said, "With you here, who dares to bully her? If Xiaoying can't come forward, you as an elder can't argue with the younger generation, so we sisters-in-law will go over to support Xiaoying."

Dong Ying couldn't help but thank her sister-in-law when she heard what she said.

Her sister-in-law said, "Don't think too much, just relax and it will be good."

Dong Ying: "Then I'll go out with him tomorrow?"

"Don't you need to sell candied haws?" asked her third sister-in-law.

Dong Ying: "Change Ye Fan on the weekend."

Her third sister-in-law immediately said, "You can go with him. You don't like kindergarten work. If you can train yourself, you can help him in the future. Zhang Xiaoming's brains are prone to losses if he expands his business. Ye Fan can't keep an eye on him all the time."

Dong Ying's strong personality doesn't mean she can lower herself to sell things. But to find a partner like this, she had to take the first step, so she went directly to Ye Fan's house the next morning.

Ye Fan had just taken the clothes out of the washing machine and was stunned when he saw her. When she came over, Ye Fan remembered to ask, "Xiao Ming's home is in the east."

Dong Ying: "It's not time to meet his parents yet. Is he coming back soon?"

Ye Fan looked at the watch on the windowsill: "Just a few more minutes."

There was a noise outside, but Ye Fan didn't pay attention to it. Suddenly she thought of her mother-in-law outside: "Come in and sit for a while. I'll see who's doing what outside."

(End of this chapter)